Share your thoughts, info and pictures and see what we can learn about it.

Lets start with some technical specs (found here : http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/S/Space_Station_V.html)
The station is :
- 560 meters (1,836 feet) in diameter
- Revolves to produce one-sixth Earth surface gravity
- Orbits 320 km (200 miles) above the Earth
- Is home to an international contingent of scientists, passengers, and bureaucrats
- The center of the station serves as a docking port for various international space shuttles while the one completed outer ring houses living quarters, recreation and shopping areas, and meeting facilities
- Built by the USA and the USSR

Yep, that famous space station! Lot's of people (including on the RPF) have tried to build that monster of a model (fairly big if you see the sad picture of that model in a field, somewhere in England ). You have to be mad to start on that scale...maybe someday I'll tackle it.

Thanks guys, but my intention wasn't to only talk about the model built for the film here...

Let's start with this :

Some weeks ago I stumbled on a few behind the scenes photos taken on the Station V sets, and one particular photo of Arthur C. Clarke (pic below) caught my eye because it reminded me of Le Corbusier's Modulor drawing.

Le Corbusier was a very famous mid-XXth century architect and here is what the Modulor was all about :

The Modulor is an anthropometric scale of proportions devised by the Swiss-born French architect Le Corbusier (1887–1965).
It was developed as a visual bridge between two incompatible scales, the Imperial system and the Metric system. It is based on the height of an English man with his arm raised.
It was used as a system to set out a number of Le Corbusier's buildings and was later codified into two books.

If it is a coincidence, it is a most remarkable one. But as SKIN JOB says, and bearing in mind what we know of the people involved, I'd be strongly inclined to doubt the coincidental nature of Clarke's pose..._________________26354

Did you also notice that Arthur C. doesn't wear shoes ? Do you think it was to keep the ground of the Station clean... or see if the Modulor dimensions were fully respected by the construction crew ? (I would opt for the second theory because the guy in the background wears shoes and the set still was under construction when this pic was taken)

Fred_________________THE FUTURE IS A THING OF THE PAST

Last edited by SKIN JOB 66 on Fri Jun 10, 2011 8:22 am; edited 1 time in total

The guy on the left in the back certainly looks like he is wearing his socks too. The guy on the right may have booties on or just have big feet. No way they would have been wearing anything that would scuff those floors...Too much work to buff out.

I am also willing to bet that Arthur is reaching up because he is in a spot that is not level anymore as the floor curves up. It is a natural instinct to reach out to hold onto something when the floor is uneven. If you have ever been in one of those fun houses with the slanted floor, you will know what I am talking about.

One thing is for sure, the shoulder pads he is wearing certainly make him look that much more like the Corbusier drawing.

The guy on the left in the back certainly looks like he is wearing his socks too. The guy on the right may have booties on or just have big feet. No way they would have been wearing anything that would scuff those floors...Too much work to buff out.

Sorry Andy but I double-checked and I can certify now that both wear shoes.

To me the outline of them does not look so much like a shoe, but more like a slipper. They look thin and don't add too much volume around the foot, and even seem a little "curvy", rather than stiff like a shoe. That is just what it looks like to me though.

I had some thoughts about it and I don't think it would be accepted by carpenters (and I don't even talk about their syndicate) to work only in socks or even in sleepers (you need to protect your toes when you build an architecture).

Look also at these photos of a rehearsal with Gary Lockwood and another of the actual shooting... Everybody wear shoes of all kinds, even high heels ! (Did you noticed the bucket and rag in the right pic ? It looks like this was their solution to keep the Station soil immaculate !)

I really think Arthur C. removed his shoes for some kind of reason, and verifying the Modulor proportions is my best guess so far...

Fred

Note : These photos come from Doug Trumbull's excellent site._________________THE FUTURE IS A THING OF THE PAST

Last edited by SKIN JOB 66 on Tue Jun 21, 2011 9:33 am; edited 1 time in total

I withdraw my theory completely Fred. You are 100% correct as far them wearing shoes on set. I went looking for other behind the scenes shots too, and could't find them except for actors on set, so you beat me to it.

I was also remembering the stories on set for BR where no one was allowed to wear shoes on the Tyrell office set after it was built. They had a terrible time protecting the shiney finish, especially when Ridley decided to flip the columns around. They had to cover it with tarp. Then Paul M Sammon walked on set without the protective booties on and scuffed it up, and they needed to repolish it.

Arthur is still alive as far as I remember. I wonder if we could ask him? He used to be willing to converse with fans when I was in high school, but I am not sure how his health is any more, or memory for that matter.

Thanks Andy ! (Doug Trumbull's site displays great 2001 photos and production material... try it !)

andy wrote:

Arthur is still alive as far as I remember.

Unfortunately, he died 3 years ago...

Since he already kindly answered 2 of my questions in the past, yesterday I sent an email to Doug Trumbull to see if he remembers anything related to the use of the Modulor during the time he spent in the Art dept...
If he answers this one you'll be the first to know here !

Fred

PS : Oh yes Andy, I remember the stories behind Tyrell office soil... There's even a few photos of Sean Young wearing slippers for her close-up shots iirc..._________________THE FUTURE IS A THING OF THE PAST

The woman is wearing a type of shoe that was popular in the 60's. I am willing to bet that the actor's shoes though would have had had felt added to the bottom of them. I can see the workers wearing there shoes until they had to clean the floor just before filming. Then it may have been socks and protected shoes only, and since Stanley didn't have his shoes felted, it was socks for him and the press photographer. Black scuffs on that floor would have been disasterous, and a huge delay in timing to have to clean up over and over as the shooting went on. I have to stick to my guns in believing they needed to do something to keep that floor clean once shooting started.

I know this is the blind men looking at the elephant, but I think they all have shoes on. If Stanley had slippers on, they ALL would have slippers on ….

I agree 100% with you BW !

Stanley Kubrick wears shoes in the photo already posted above, WHITE shoes, I'm even going to tell you which brand they are... I might be wrong but I think they are REPETTO dancing shoes. (They were very trendy during the "Swinging London" years)

How do I know ?

Well, the first time I saw these BTS photos in the Station sets, the shoes immediately caught my eye because they also were Serge Gainsbourg's signature shoes. You don't know who the GREAT Serge Gainsbourg was ? look here :

The Repettos even connect Gainsbourg in a certain way with Kubrick and 2001... Listen to this : The couple he formed with Jane Birkin was the most glamourous in the late 60's / early 70's France. Now, guess who is Jane Birkin's brother ?

Andrew Birkin, one of Stanley Kubrick's assistants on 2001. He took all the landscape photos that were used in "The Dawn of Man" sequence !